Sedex and SMETA
Sedex and SMETA audits in Pakistan, and why nobody can certify you
There is no such thing as SMETA certification. Sedex is not a certification body and runs no pass or fail model. What your site receives is an audit report and a corrective action plan, shared with the customers you choose. Any firm selling you a SMETA certificate is selling something that does not exist.
The short answer
Sedex is the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, a membership platform where buyers and suppliers share ethical trade data. SMETA, the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit, is the audit method used to generate that data. It is a methodology, not a standard you get certified against.
That distinction decides everything else on this page. Sedex explicitly states that it is not a certification body and does not impose a pass or fail model. At the end of a SMETA audit your site holds a SMETA audit report and a corrective action plan, both uploaded to the Sedex platform, where you decide which customers can see them.
So the honest phrasing for your buyer, your website and your tender documents is that your site has completed a SMETA audit. Not that it is SMETA certified, and not that it is Sedex certified.
Three things to settle before you spend anything
- Which pillars your buyer wants. A two pillar audit and a four pillar audit are different pieces of work at different costs. Ask, do not assume.
- Whether you are a Sedex member yet. Only Sedex members can be audited under SMETA, and the report can only be uploaded once membership is in place.
- When your peak season is. The audit has to happen when at least 60 per cent of your workforce is present, and not in low season. That constraint sets your timeline more often than anything else.
This page is written for Pakistani exporters who have just been sent a Sedex request by a European or American customer and need to know what it actually means.
Is there such a thing as Sedex certification?
No. This is the single most common misunderstanding in this market and it costs people money.
Sedex is a membership organisation and a data platform. SMETA is the audit methodology its members use. Sedex states plainly that it is not a certification body and that it does not operate a pass or fail model, which is exactly why no certificate exists to be issued. There is no SMETA logo you earn, no expiry date on a certificate, and no register of certified companies to appear on.
What exists instead is better suited to what your buyer actually wants. Your audit report and your corrective action plan sit on the Sedex platform, and you grant visibility to the customers you trade with. A buyer can see your findings, see what you committed to fix, and see whether you fixed it. That is a more useful object than a certificate, and it is also less forgiving, because there is nowhere for a weak result to hide.
The practical consequence: if a supplier directory, a consultant or a competitor shows you a SMETA certificate, treat it as a sign that they do not understand the scheme.
What is the difference between Sedex and SMETA?
Sedex is the platform and the membership. SMETA is the audit.
You join Sedex as a member, complete the Sedex Self Assessment Questionnaire, and maintain your site profile. Sedex recommends refreshing the questionnaire at least once a year. Your customers, who are also Sedex members, can then see the data you choose to share with them.
SMETA is the audit methodology those members use so that an audit carried out at one site means the same thing as an audit carried out at another. A SMETA audit measures your site against the ETI Base Code and against local law, and the term may only be used when that is what actually happened.
What does a SMETA audit actually cover?
Two pillars are mandatory in every SMETA audit. Two more are optional, and your customer decides whether they are included.
| Pillar | Two pillar audit | Four pillar audit |
|---|---|---|
| Labour standards | Included | Included |
| Health and safety | Included | Included |
| Environment | Basic assessment only | Full assessment |
| Business ethics | Not included | Included |
Inside those pillars the Base Code areas that generate the most findings in Pakistan are responsible recruitment and entitlement to work, working hours and rest days, living wages, and the responsible use of sub contracting and homeworkers. Worker interviews are a core part of the audit rather than a formality, and an audit where the interview answers contradict the records is an audit that goes badly regardless of how good the paperwork is.
What changed in SMETA 7?
SMETA 7 is the current version. Sedex describes it as its biggest overhaul of the methodology, and it was introduced in 2024.
The change that matters most to a supplier is that every SMETA 7 audit now includes a Management Systems Assessment. Rather than only recording whether you comply today, the auditor assesses whether you have a system that will keep you compliant. It is graded across four elements, covering policies and procedures, a responsible senior manager, communication and training, and monitoring.
| Management system grade | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not addressed | Nothing in place for this element |
| Fundamental improvements required | Something exists but it does not work |
| Some improvements recommended | Working, with identified weaknesses |
| Robust management system | The element is properly controlled |
SMETA 7 also introduced a finding type called Collaborative Action Required, for issues a site genuinely cannot resolve on its own, where the buyer has to be part of the solution. Purchasing practices that force excessive overtime are the obvious example. It is a useful category and it is worth knowing it exists, because it changes how some findings should be written.
If you already run ISO 9001 or ISO 45001, the management systems part of SMETA 7 will feel familiar and you are further ahead than you think.
Who can carry out a SMETA audit?
Only a Sedex Affiliate Audit Company. Sedex approves these firms and their auditors to use the SMETA methodology, and states that companies and individuals not affiliated with Sedex or with an Affiliate Audit Company are not authorised to offer Sedex or SMETA related services.
Axora Global is not an Affiliate Audit Company and does not carry out SMETA audits. What we do is prepare your site: the gap assessment, the worker records, the wage and hours evidence, the health and safety controls, the management system that SMETA 7 now assesses, and the mock audit before the real one. The audit itself is booked by you with an Affiliate Audit Company, and we will tell you plainly where the line sits rather than blur it.
What does SMETA preparation cost in Pakistan?
There is no fixed price, and there are two separate costs that people often confuse.
The audit fee is paid to the Affiliate Audit Company and depends on the number of pillars, the size of your site and the number of audit days. Sedex membership is a separate annual cost paid to Sedex. Neither of those is ours and we do not mark them up.
Axora Global quotes a consultancy fee band after a free gap analysis, once the scope, your number of sites and the maturity of your existing system are known. What moves it: how many workers you employ and whether any are supplied through contractors, whether you use homeworkers or sub contracting, how good your wage and hours records already are, and whether you are preparing for two pillars or four.
How long does SMETA preparation take?
For a site with reasonable records, six to ten weeks from gap analysis to audit readiness. For a site where wage and hours records need rebuilding, three to six months, because you cannot manufacture a history that does not exist and auditors look back across months.
The constraint that surprises people is scheduling. The audit must take place when at least 60 per cent of your workforce is present and not during your low season, so a textile unit that runs quiet in summer has a narrower window than it expects. Start the conversation with your buyer early, because the date is often decided by your production calendar rather than by your readiness.
How often do you need a SMETA audit?
Sedex treats audit information as current for 24 months, and does not itself mandate how often you are audited. In practice your customers decide. The usual pattern is a yearly audit for sites assessed as high risk, every two years for medium risk, and at the buyer's discretion for low risk.
Between full audits there are follow up audits, which may be carried out on site or as a desk based review, to confirm that the corrective action plan has actually been closed out. Follow ups generally happen within six months of the original audit.
How we work on Sedex and SMETA
The gap analysis is free and it is a site visit, not a sales call. We walk the floor, read your wage and hours records, look at your recruitment and contractor arrangements, and come back with a written list of what would be found on audit day and what it would take to close each item. You keep that document whether or not you engage us.
After that the work is records, controls and the management system: recruitment and right to work evidence, working hours and rest day records that reconcile with payroll, wage calculations that stand up, health and safety controls that are used rather than filed, worker voice and grievance arrangements that exist in practice, and the four management system elements SMETA 7 now grades. We finish with a mock audit run the way a real auditor runs one, including worker interviews.
We do not audit you, and we do not issue certificates, because for SMETA no certificate exists.
Common questions about Sedex and SMETA
Can I get SMETA certified?
No. Sedex is not a certification body and operates no pass or fail model, so no SMETA certificate exists. What you receive is a SMETA audit report and a corrective action plan, uploaded to the Sedex platform and shared with the customers you choose. The correct phrasing for a buyer or a tender is that your site has completed a SMETA audit. Anyone offering to sell you SMETA certification does not understand the scheme.
What is the difference between Sedex and SMETA?
Sedex is the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange, a membership organisation and data platform where buyers and suppliers share ethical trade information. SMETA is the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit, the audit methodology members use so that audits mean the same thing across different sites. You join Sedex, you are audited under SMETA, and the resulting report sits on the Sedex platform.
Do I need to be a Sedex member before the audit?
Yes. Only Sedex members can have a SMETA audit carried out by an Affiliate Audit Company, and the audit report can only be uploaded to the platform once membership is in place. Membership is a separate annual cost paid directly to Sedex and is not part of a consultancy fee. Get the membership sorted first, because arranging it after the audit creates avoidable delay.
What is the difference between a two pillar and a four pillar SMETA audit?
Labour standards and health and safety are included in every SMETA audit, along with a basic environmental assessment. A four pillar audit adds a full environmental assessment and a business ethics assessment. Your customer decides which they require, so ask them directly before booking anything. Preparing for two pillars and then being told four were needed is a common and expensive mistake.
What is new in SMETA 7?
SMETA 7 is the current version, introduced in 2024 and described by Sedex as its biggest overhaul of the methodology. The most significant change for suppliers is that every audit now includes a Management Systems Assessment, graded across four elements from Not addressed through to Robust management system. It also added a finding type called Collaborative Action Required, for issues a site cannot resolve without its buyer's involvement.
How much does a SMETA audit cost in Pakistan?
There is no fixed price, and there are three separate costs. The audit fee goes to the Affiliate Audit Company and depends on pillars, site size and audit days. Sedex membership is an annual fee paid to Sedex. Preparation is the only part we quote: Axora Global quotes a consultancy fee band after a free gap analysis, because the fee varies with scope, organisation size and the number of sites. We do not mark up the audit or the membership.
How long does it take to get ready for a SMETA audit?
Six to ten weeks for a site with reasonable records, and three to six months where wage and hours records need rebuilding, because auditors look back across months and a history cannot be created retrospectively. Scheduling is often the real constraint: the audit must happen when at least 60 per cent of your workforce is present and not in your low season.
How often will my customers want a SMETA audit?
Sedex treats the information as current for 24 months and does not mandate a frequency itself, so your customers decide. The common pattern is yearly for sites assessed as high risk, every two years for medium risk, and at the buyer's discretion for low risk. Follow up audits, on site or desk based, usually happen within six months of the original audit to confirm the corrective action plan has been closed.
Can Axora Global carry out our SMETA audit?
No. SMETA audits may only be carried out by a Sedex Affiliate Audit Company, and Axora Global is not one. We prepare your site for the audit and we are clear about where that line sits. You book the audit with an Affiliate Audit Company directly, which also keeps the audit independent, which is the point of it.
We already hold ISO 9001 and ISO 45001. Does that help?
Considerably, and more than it used to. SMETA 7 assesses your management system across policies and procedures, a responsible senior manager, communication and training, and monitoring. If you run ISO 9001 or ISO 45001 properly you already have most of that machinery, and the gap is usually in labour specific areas such as working hours records, recruitment and right to work evidence, and worker voice arrangements rather than in management system structure.
What causes the most findings in Pakistan?
In our experience: working hours and rest day records that do not reconcile with payroll, recruitment and right to work documentation, wage calculations including overtime premiums, contractor and agency worker arrangements that nobody owns, and grievance mechanisms that exist on paper but that workers cannot describe. Worker interviews are a core part of SMETA rather than a formality, so an audit where interviews contradict the records goes badly no matter how complete the files look.
Your buyer has sent you a Sedex request. Start here.
Send us the request and tell us what you make and how many people you employ. The gap analysis is free, it is written down, and it tells you what an auditor would find before one arrives.